WIRRAL ambulance workers have urged the Government to hear their pleas for better pay.
Ambulance service staff on Wirral are out on strike today (Wednesday, January 11) in an ongoing dispute between trade unions and the government over pay.
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff who are members of the GMB and Unison trade unions are taking part in the action.
Jenny Giblin, paramedic and GMB union representative, was among those on the picket line in Birkenhead this morning.
She told the Globe: "None of us want to be on the picket line; it's alien to us.
"There's an ambulance here and we want to be on it, but everyone's in the same boat - cost of living's gone up and we just want a pay rise in line with that.
"Not just that, but we can see the NHS crumbling in front of us and don't want it to continue the way it is - we don't want to see queues of patients in corridors waiting to be seen and who need an ambulance.
"We've been there since the start wanting the Government to talk to us, but they won't engage in conversation. We just want them to listen to us."
The mum-of-two from Bebington who is based at Wallasey ambulance station has been a paramedic for the last seven years and was a nurse for 13 years before that.
She continued: "This is affecting every sector. I've got two children under three and I worry when the utility bills come in. You're working long hours, there's not much else you can give.
"We just want the Government to listen to us.
"I've been a paramedic for seven years and it's definitely got worse.
"We used to have to queue outside hospitals at certain times, like with winter pressures, but now it's every day. Corridors are almost like wards.
"Sometimes you spend a whole shift on a corridor.
"It's demoralising. I dread coming into work sometimes because I know what's going to happen.
"I've been here long enough that I am on a better wage than some but I'm still sitting at home timing how long I've got the heating on for.
"I've got two children under three. If I'm struggling, I don't know how people on lower wage bands cope. People are living on overtime.
"I finished working at midnight last night. I've got an elderly father and I thought 'I really hope he doesn't get ill today'.
"We have got families and an ambulance strike is worrying for us, but if we don't do anything about these conditions there won't be an ambulance service and there won't be an NHS."
Paramedic Dave McNeill, 55, outside Birkenhead community fire and ambulance station in Wirral, Merseyside, said: "Sometimes you can spend eight hours waiting on a hospital corridor with one patient.
"Crews end up taking two or three patients so other crews can get back on the road, and that's not good, in my opinion, it's not safe.
"Sometimes you can hear a category one call, which is the most life-threatening, coming in and you can't go to it because you can't leave the patient you're with. It's frustrating.
"It's a really difficult situation because the hospitals don't have the staff.
"After Covid, things never really got back on track.
"People don't enjoy going on strike. It goes against the grain of what we do this job for."
Kevin Donovan, a local resident and member of local campaign group 'Defend the NHS' was among those on the picket line in Birkenhead.
He told the Globe: "We're here, as members of the public and patients, to support these people. They are not just fighting for pay and conditions, which is crucial, they are also fighting for the NHS.
"Without a fully-staffed, fully-funded and fully-available health service, the rest of us are doomed.
"We can't have, what the Tories clearly want, a private service only for people who can afford it. It's their aim and they've been planning for it for a long time.
"Frankly, if the ambulance service staff, nurses and doctors lose their struggles, we all lose, because the future is very bleak without a national health service.
"I'm here, specifically because two people - Rachel and Gary from Birkenhead ambulance station - saved my life five years ago.
"I had an emergency call out in the middle of the night after developing a sudden, serious problem following an operation. An unforeseen blood clot developed.
"Rachel and Gary got me downstairs, into the back of the ambulance and got me to Arrowe Park. The rest is that I'm still here."
Further action is planned for a week on Monday, January 23.
While ambulances will still be available on these days, again, they will only be available for people with life-threatening injuries and illnesses.
There will also be reduced 999 and 111 call handling staff and fewer staff in our Patient Transport Service (PTS).
Patients who have PTS bookings today are being advised that will only now be available for renal, oncology and palliative care appointments. Providers will be in touch to inform you if your appointment is being cancelled or to advise if you need to seek alternative transport.
Equally, people should use 111.nhs.uk, their GP or local pharmacy for help with non-urgent health concerns.
Patients who have PTS bookings for today will only now be available for renal, oncology and palliative care appointments. Providers will be in touch to inform you if your appointment is being cancelled or to advise if you need to seek alternative transport.
Ged Blezard, director of operations, said: "Firstly, I want to thank the public for their support on the previous day of strike action before Christmas.
"You heeded our messages, and we were grateful to see 999 call volumes drop significantly.
"As before, we are maximising our own resources, using private providers and military support where appropriate and working closely with our trade unions to provide cover for the most serious emergencies.
"We are also working with our healthcare partners to maintain patient safety during these periods of industrial action.
"But, to get to the people who need us this time, we will require you to do the same again.
"However, I want to make it clear that if you need us, please continue to ring 999, and we will get there as quickly as we can.
"Ambulance resources will be prioritising life-threatening injuries and illness.
"Unfortunately, other patients will wait and may be advised to seek alternative transport if they still require hospital treatment.
"We will also be particularly more stretched in our 999 and 111 call centres, which will likely result in longer call response times.
"Therefore, if you have already called 999 to request an ambulance, please only call back if your condition has worsened or to cancel the ambulance.
"Repeatedly calling 999 can block phone lines for other emergencies.
"And if you need urgent care – first use the symptom checker at NHS 111 online, which will direct you to the most appropriate support. Again, you should call on friends or relatives for transport if necessary."
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